Gun debate must include illegal sales

Published: Friday, February 22, 2013 at 03:46 PM.

The result is not surprising. Access to stolen weapons is arming criminals, authorities say. While felons are barred from owning guns and aren’t able to buy them legally, it’s not difficult for a felon to purchase a stolen gun.

None of this builds confidence as national leaders debate ways to make guns more difficult to obtain legally, something that will no doubt create an even larger demand for illegal weapons.

It is incumbent upon the ATF and other federal agencies to redouble efforts to target the sale of stolen or other illegal firearms. That’s one step. But owners of legally obtained guns have a role as well. Make sure weapons in homes aren’t easy to find. And if a gun is stolen, always report it to law enforcement. Be sure to have its serial number, make and model. It’s the kind of information that can help authorities crack down on illegal firearms.

Gun control is a debate worth having and one that will occupy national leaders for the next few weeks. But it won’t matter much unless illegal weapons are also placed under the same kind of microscope.

While much of the ongoing national debate over gun control has focused on laws regulating the sale of so-called assault weapons or more thorough background checks of potential gun buyers, the sale of illegal firearms continues largely unabated.

According to a Times-News story published last week, it remains relatively easy for anyone to buy a gun at any time. In fact, it might only take a few hours for someone in Alamance County with cash in hand to find and purchase about any kind of handgun or rifle that’s on or off the market without any trouble at all.

“Guns are available if you’ve got the money,” Alamance County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Randy Jones said pointedly.

Indeed.

The problem, those in law enforcement say, is that bringing down those who buy and sell illegal firearms isn’t nearly as easy as finding them. Illegal gun dealers are not usually part of some vast crime network. Drug operations, for example, are frequently well staffed criminal organizations that oversee the illicit trade from start to finish. Undercover officers work through informants to gain access to these operations. In fact, the route to illegal guns is often through arrests on drug charges.

On the other hand, those who deal illegally in weapons are often one-person operators who work from the back of a vehicle or a variety of locations. It’s one step above, “psst, buddy, come here.”

That doesn’t make it less dangerous, just more troublesome to police. Burlington Assistant Police Chief Chris Verdeck told the Times-News that weapons operations are difficult to infiltrate. He estimated that city police have been involved in undercover gun operations via informants three or four times in the last several years.

The result is not surprising. Access to stolen weapons is arming criminals, authorities say. While felons are barred from owning guns and aren’t able to buy them legally, it’s not difficult for a felon to purchase a stolen gun.

None of this builds confidence as national leaders debate ways to make guns more difficult to obtain legally, something that will no doubt create an even larger demand for illegal weapons.

It is incumbent upon the ATF and other federal agencies to redouble efforts to target the sale of stolen or other illegal firearms. That’s one step. But owners of legally obtained guns have a role as well. Make sure weapons in homes aren’t easy to find. And if a gun is stolen, always report it to law enforcement. Be sure to have its serial number, make and model. It’s the kind of information that can help authorities crack down on illegal firearms.

Gun control is a debate worth having and one that will occupy national leaders for the next few weeks. But it won’t matter much unless illegal weapons are also placed under the same kind of microscope.